You could forgive Roman Reigns if he felt a bit overshadowed. Despite winning the Royal Rumble in January and headlining WWE Fast Lane in February, not to mention his headlining slot at WrestleMania on Sunday, Reigns hasn’t had the brightest spotlight on him recently. Between Brock Lesnar’s contract situation and the mixed reactions from the WWE fans with regards to how WrestleMania has been built up, it seems that the Samoan Superman has been shunted off to the side.
That’s not how he sees it; however. We got a chance to catch up with Roman just days before his main event slot, and all he’s feeling now is focus. Regardless of all the circumstances around Mania this year, Reigns is preparing to not just perform, but to wow all of those people who have doubted his ascension into the upper level of the WWE card. He also spoke to us about his spot in the Snickers “Who Are You When You’re Hungry” campaign, which is a very tangible piece of evidence regarding his star’s rise over the last few months. Win or lose vs. The Beast Incarnate on Sunday, Roman Reigns is here to stay.
Interview by Luis Paez-Pumar.
Let’s start with your thoughts on the big WWE news from this week, which was that Brock Lesnar resigned with the company. How does that change how you, Roman Reigns, prepare for the main event at Wrestlemania?
I think the thing to expect is the unexpected. It's Wrestlemania and anything can happen.
Not at all, to be honest. As long as he shows up Sunday, that's always been my mindset. As long as he's there and he's ready to fight, which I know he will be. I think it's great news, to be honest. I'm on a team, I'm on the WWE team, and I couldn't be prouder for us to lock down such a great talent, and such a fierce competitor. I think it's great for WWE, I think it's great for Brock Lesnar and his family, so I'm looking forward to being able to compete against him for the years to come.
This news just raised the excitement level for the main event, more than it already was. I wanted to put aside the reactions from the more hardcore WWE fans, however, and focus on the casual fan, who is tuned in just for Wrestlemania; they might not watch the whole year. What would you tell them if they don't know what to expect from a Roman Reigns main event of Wrestlemania?
I think the thing to expect is the unexpected. It's Wrestlemania and anything can happen. It's WWE, and it can get out of hand, and it can get crazy, and that's what I'm going for. To put on a performance that's never been seen before. To show an intensity and aggression that you don't normally see in a wrestling match, so I think myself and Brock Lesnar have a great opportunity to have one hell of a match and tear the house down.
Something that I find interesting is that both you and Brock had high profile football careers, and now you're main-eventing at this shiny, new NFL stadium. What do you think is the most important lesson that you've carried over from football into the WWE?
Well, I think the big thing that I was able to transfer, from football to squared circle is that intensity, that toughness. It takes a very tough man to play defensive line at any level of football, but to be able to do it on a division 1 level, or a professional level, it takes that intensity, that aggression, and you have to be tough. I think that's what I was able to do, along with Brock, is to be able to transfer that to the wrestling ring.
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So, switching gears a little bit, ever since you won the Royal Rumble, your visibility and your star power have both been on the rise, and now you're part of this Snickers campaign, that has featured names like Betty White, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Manziel, and my personal favorite, Danny Trejo. How does it feel to see your star rise, not just in the squared circle, but outside of it, too?
It's really cool. It's so, so surreal. That's what's awesome about Wrestlemania and WWE; you get so many cool opportunities and for me to be able to partner up with Snickers, and shoot the commercial, and show people my hungry side and my hunger alter ego, it's such a great deal. As you know, anything can happen when you're hungry, so we encourage everybody to join the Who Are You When You're Hungry contest. You can go to the Facebook page, the Snickers Facebook page, and find out all the details. You can also check out the commercial that myself and Renee Young shot, and you can see my hunger alter ego, and you're probably going to be, like, "Who is this guy? This is not what we're used to." But, you know, that was a very cool opportunity that Snickers and WWE gave me, to show a different side. Believe me, though: when it comes to this Sunday at Wrestlemania, I won't be hungry. I'll make sure to take a bite out of a Snickers bar, and make sure I'm good to go.
Who is the scariest WWE superstar when they're hungry?
I would say, just based off of his whole character and things that he does, it’s The Ryback. It seems like he's always hungry, and he's always aggressive, and he's always throwing people around. The Big Guy, he always wants to eat more, he's always saying feed me more, so we need to send a whole packet of Snickers to calm him down. That may be the key, if we can feed him some Snickers, we may be able to get him out of his game, and beat him.
You went from being the “hot tag” of the most popular faction in recent memory at last year’s WrestleMania, then unfortunately you got injured and shelved for a few months, but now you're back on top, going to the main event. What has the last year been like for you, with those ups and downs?
They've been neat. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride, but I really feel fortunate to be able to experience all the things that I have, to go all over the world, to be able to do what I love. There was a bit of a scare there; I had emergency hernia surgery, and it came out of nowhere. For me it really takes me back to my football career, and just life in general. Anything can happen, things can change in an instant, so for me, it's all about living in the moment, and just enjoying the ride because I'm living a dream here, and life is good.
Win or lose on Sunday, what do you hope to get out of the next year of WWE and Roman Reigns?
For me, win lose or draw... as long as you have another day to compete, as long as I wake up the next day, I feel like I have a great opportunity to not only show the evolution of myself and my character, but to just show different sides of my personality. That's something I'm really grateful for; teaming up with Snickers, I was able to do that, so, hopefully many more opportunities down the road are going to come up like the Snickers commercial, and things like that. If I can, just continue to grow as a performer, as a character, and as a human being.
Your family's obviously a huge part of your life and it's been a big focus during the leadup to the match, showing everyone how tight you guys are. What has been the best advice you've received from anyone in your family, with regards to the main event on Sunday?
Just to enjoy the moment. Just to enjoy the ride, and take it all in. Have a photographic memory and just never forget these great moments that are happening, and as they come, stay humble and remember your family, keep them first.
